Researching Employers


Why?: To effectively sell yourself as a job candidate, you need to be able to persuade the employer that you are a fit for that employer’s needs. You cannot present yourself---in cover letters or interviews---as a match for the employer’s needs if you do not know enough about the employer to do so. In interviews, employers expect you to arrive with knowledge of background about the organizations. If you do not, you look like you are not really interested in the job. You have to be able to answer the critical question of why you would like to work for that employer---and not sound like you would take any job. Research also helps you formulate intelligent and appropriate questions to ask in your interview.


When?: Ideally you will begin researching when you start looking at potential career fields. But many students wait until they are getting ready for an interview.


What Should I Look For?: Look for general company information, such as:

  • Products and services

  • Financial statistics

  • Locations of offices and headquarters

  • Mission and history

  • Company culture

  • Career paths

  • Benefits offered to employees

  • Diversity initiatives

  • Hiring Procedures


Where Can I Find Information?

  • Talk to people: Find people who work for or know about the organization. They could be people you meet at a career fair, family members, neighbors, parents of friends, students who graduated ahead of you, and alumni contacts.

  • The employer’s website: This is a no-brainer! Look for basic facts, information about mission, culture, values and more. If the website posts jobs and/or the organizations invites email from job seekers and/or accepts resumes online, follow the instructions the employer provides.

  • Internet research: